September 4, 2011. Posted by Becca Pulliam.

Warren Wolf, the young vibes man from Baltimore with the strong new CD, played for keeps in overwhelming heat. Warren’s on the fall schedule for Josh Jackson’s Live from the 92Y series. Buy your ticket.

Warren Wolf .. Photo by Jeff Forman

Sean Jones on the amphitheatre stage was “killin” says Josh, in fact JJ tweeted “best set of the festival so far.” Listen for Sean, Labor Day at noon on Jazz 88 and WBGO dot org.

Sean Jones .. Photo by Jeff Forman

After Sean, a serious storm blew in. The Sun Ra Arkestra squeezed a brief acoustic set between the first storm and a second that came barreling in from the west. To save the night, the Festival moved some music to the hotel as a HIGH WIND JAM SESSION, and the Dave Holland Octet delivered a performance I won’t forget!

The bar was crowded and noisy, yet Dave’s acoustic bass reached out to everyone. He’s so musical and projects without forcing, and as for Chris Potter, his tenor is like a ribbon and a knife at the same time. Gary Smulyan crooned on bari. With great writing and solos all around, people – on their feet – turned to face and love the band, all the way to the end.

Later Dave told me a good story. When he played with Miles, he experienced how a musician could quiet a noisy room. On the intro to the ballad “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” for example, Miles would start alone, playing naturally, not raising his trumpet. The band would join in, and somewhere in the second or third chorus, Dave says, the people stopped talking and started listening, because - through his music – Miles had insisted.